DOJ official: Administration still unsure on marijuana stance

The Trump administration hasn’t yet decided what to do about marijuana enforcement in states that have legal cannabis programs, according to a top Department of Justice official who was asked about marijuana policy.

“We’re looking at it,” Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 enforcement official at the Department of Justice, said of the Obama-era Cole Memo meant to safeguard the legal cannabis industry.

Rosenstein – speaking Thursday to the conservative Heritage Foundation – did not say when the administration’s review of the Cole memo would conclude.

He did say the top priority for the DOJ under the Trump administration is enforcing federal drug law. He said opioid deaths are driving the increased emphasis on drug enforcement.

Asked specifically about marijuana, Rosenstein repeated that the Trump administration believes marijuana legalization is “a lot more harmful than a lot of people anticipated.”